Diamondback terrapin mortality in the American eel pot fishery and evaluation of a bycatch reduction device

The effect of commercial fisheries on nontarget species is a burgeoning issue for both fishery managers and estuarine biologists. We documented diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) bycatch in cloth-funnel eel pots used in a Maryland (United States) commercial American eel (Anguilla rostrata) fishery. Between 1992 and 2001, we obtained 40 male and 9 female terrapin captures and 1 male terrapin recapture from commercial eel pots. To quantify terrapin catch rates and evaluate a potential solution to terrapin bycatch in eel pots, we conducted two experiments that tested the effects of a novel cel pot bycatch reduction device on terrapin bycatch and eel harvest. We determined low terrapin bycatch rates (0.000–0.008 terrapins pot⁻¹ d⁻¹) in pots with small entrance funnels and high terrapin capture rates (0.458 terrapins pot⁻¹ d⁻¹) in pots with large entrance funnels. The BRD eliminated terrapin bycatch and had no effect on eel catch making it an economically-viable solution for terrapin mortality in eel pots. We demonstrated that terrapin bycatch can be a problem in the American eel pot fishery and that our bycatch reduction device is a simple and cost-effective solution to this problem.     

Estimating long-term cliff recession rates from shore platform widths

Coastal cliff erosion is a problem in many coastal areas. However, often only very limited data are available to quantify the rates of recession for the development of coastal management strategies. In the soft flysch deposits of the Waitemata Group, Auckland, New Zealand, coastal cliffs are associated with shore platforms. Two models exist for the profile evolution of shore platforms and associated cliffs: the first suggests that an equilibrium profile develops in response to erosive processes, and this profile subsequently migrates landward; the second model suggests that the seaward margin of the shore platform is relatively static, and the profile extends landward through a combination of cliff recession and platform lowering. Physical simulations and field measurements for mudstone and limestone lithologies indicate that the second model is more likely for soft flysch deposits. A eustatic sea-level curve for the Weiti Estuary, Auckland, suggests that up to 7120 ± 70 years have been available for shore platform development since sea level reached the present seaward margins of shore platforms. Shore platform widths were measured using GPS at two sites in Waitemata Group rocks: the North Shore of Auckland; and the southern side of the Tawharanui Peninsula, North Auckland. The long-term cliff recession rates estimated from shore platform widths (1.4 ± 0.1 to 14.3 ± 0.1 mm y^− 1) are consistent with the lower end of the average range of cliff top and face recession rates published for Waitemata Group rocks using different methods (11–75 mm y^− 1), and in agreement with cliff base recession estimates (3.5 mm y^− 1). Shore platform widths were qualitatively related to the rock mass characteristics of the associated cliffs, and therefore platform widths could provide a method of identifying regions of potential hazard.     

A kinematic study of the integral shaped filament:what roles do filaments play in forming young stellar clusters?

Young protoclusters(embedded stellar clusters) are responsible for the vast majority of star formation currently occurring in the Galaxy. Recent observations suggest a scenario in which filamentary structures in the interstellar medium represent the first step towards precluster clumps and eventually star formation. Whether filaments continuously fuel the star formation process when the cluster accretes material is still an open question. In this paper, we present a case study of the famous ‘integral shaped filament'(ISF) in the Orion A molecular cloud and we seek to study the kinematics which is truly originated from the ISF. We firstly define the central ridge of the ISF with NH_3,~(12) CO,~(13) CO and N_2H~+. Undulations are present in all the ridges. Moreover, a large scale offset is apparent in the ridges as derived by different tracers, which may be explained by the slingshot mechanism proposed by Stutz Gould. We fit the velocity field of the ISF and find the derived velocity gradient is about 0.7 km s~(-1) pc~(-1) which may come from an overall contraction. We propose a method to check the accretion flow along the ISF by using the velocity deviations of different molecular tracers, which is better than the common method of using the velocity distribution of one tracer alone. Using the velocity deviations, we also find that OMC-1 to 5 are located close to the local extrema of the fluctuations, which may demonstrate that gas flows toward each clump along the ISF.     

The effect of a northward shift in the southern hemisphere westerlies on the global ocean

We examine the effect of a northward shift in the position of the southern hemisphere subpolar westerly winds (SWWs) on the vertical and horizontal distribution of temperature and salinity in the world ocean. A northward shift of the SWWs causes a latitudinal contraction of the subpolar gyres in the southern hemisphere (SH). In the Indian and Pacific, this leads to subsurface warming in the subtropical thermocline. As the southern margins of the gyres move into latitudes characterised by warmer surface air temperature (SAT), the layers at mid-depth below 400 m depth become ventilated by warmer water. We characterize the approximation of the ventilated thermocline in our coarse resolution model using a set of passive tracer experiments, and illustrate how the northward shift in the SWWs causes an equatorward shift in the latitude of origin of water ventilating layers deeper than 400 m in the Indian and Pacific, leaving the total surface ventilation of the upper 1200 m unchanged. In contrast, the latitudinal constraint on the Antarctic Circumpolar Current posed by the Drake Passage causes a cooling and freshening throughout the Atlantic thermocline; here, subsurface thermocline water originates from higher latitudes under the wind shift. On longer timescales Atlantic cooling and freshening is reinforced by a reduction in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation and surface salinification of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In effect, the latitude of zero wind stress curl in the SWWs regulates the relative importance of the “cold water route” via the Drake Passage and the “warm water route” associated with thermocline water exchange via the Indian Ocean. Thus, a more northward location of the SWWs corresponds with a reduced salinity contrast between the Indian/ Pacific Oceans and the Atlantic. This results in reduced NADW formation. Also, a more northward location of the SWWs facilitates the injection of cool fresh Antarctic Intermediate Water into the South Atlantic subtropical gyre. Beyond these changes, on a millennial timescale, the deep ocean warms throughout the water column in response to the wind shift. Global salinity stratification also becomes less stable, as more saline water remains at the surface and accumulates in the Indian and Pacific thermocline. The freshening of the deep ocean reflects a reduced stirring of the global ocean due to reduced net circulation arising from a misalignment between the westerlies and the topographically constrained ACC. Our results lend support to the idea that a more equatorward location of the SWW maximum during glacial climates contributed to cooler and fresher conditions in the Atlantic, inhibiting NADW.     

An integrated field and numerical modelling study of controls on Late Quaternary fluvial landscape development (Tabernas,southeast Spain)

The variability of Quaternary landforms preserved in the Tabernas basin of southeast (SE) Spain raises numerous questions concerning the roles of external forcing mechanisms (e.g. tectonics and/or climate) and internal landscape properties (e.g. lithological controls) in the evolution of the basin‐wide fluvial system over Late Quaternary timescales. In this study, we apply the FLUVER2 numerical model to investigate the significance of these landscape controls upon patterns of landscape evolution. We highlight the complications of generating realistic input datasets for use in the modelling of long‐term landscape evolution (e.g. discharge and runoff datasets). Model outputs are compared to extensive field mapping of fluvial terraces, their sedimentary architecture and optically stimulated luminescence dating results of the terraces. The results demonstrate the significance of non‐linear rates of flexural tectonic uplift towards the west of the Tabernas Basin which have controlled base levels throughout the Quaternary and promoted the formation of a series of diverging fluvial terraces. Our numerical model results further highlight the importance of climate cycles upon river terrace formation. Basin‐wide aggradation events were modelled during the transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to 5 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) as supported by field evidence. This aggradational pattern supports the regional hypothesis of terrace formation during global glacial cycles and cold‐to‐warm stage transitions and supports the use of sea surface temperature climate proxy data in the modelling exercise. The availability of sediments derived from the surrounding hillslopes and adjacent alluvial fans explains the generation of substantial terrace aggradations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.